Mayotte

Mayotte, southeasternmost island of the Comoros archipelago and an overseas département of France, situated in the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean, about 193 miles (310 km) northwest of Madagascar. The capital city, Mamoudzou, is located on the eastern coast of the island. Pamandzi, an islet lying about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) east of Mayotte, is connected by a 1.2-mile causeway to the rocky outcrop known as Dzaoudzi, site of a city and port. Area 144.5 square miles (374.2 square km). Pop. (2007) 186,452.

A volcanic mountain range forms a north-south chain on Mayotte island, with summits from 1,600 to 2,000 feet (500 to 600 m) in elevation. Protected waters for shipping and fishing are created by surrounding coral reefs some distance from the shore. The climate is warm, humid, and maritime, and average monthly temperatures range from 75 °F (24 °C) in August to 81 °F (27 °C) in December. The island’s average annual rainfall is 200 inches (5,000 mm). The vegetation comprises lush green tropical forest.

People

Most of the people are Mahorais of Malagasy origin and are Sunni Muslim and strongly influenced by French culture; there is a substantial Roman Catholic minority. French is the official language, but most of the people speak Comorian (closely allied to Swahili); there are some villages along the Mayotte coast in which a Malagasy dialect is the main language. Births greatly exceed deaths and the population is growing rapidly. Moreover, nearly 50 percent of the population is less than 15 years of age, portending high rates of natural increase well into the 21st century. The principal cities and towns are Mamoudzou, Koungou, and Dzaoudzi.

Economy

Agriculture is the principal occupation on Mayotte and is confined to the central and northeastern plains; cash crops include vanilla, ylang-ylang, coffee, and coconuts. Cassava (manioc), bananas, corn (maize), and rice are grown for subsistence. The island’s main exports are ylang-ylang extract, vanilla, coffee, and copra. Rice, sugar, flour, clothing, building materials, hardware, cement, and transport equipment are imported. Mayotte’s major trading partner is France, and the economy is in large part dependent on French aid. A road system links the principal towns on Mayotte island, and an international airport is located at Dzaoudzi.

Government and society

Mayotte is an overseas département of France. From 1976 into the 21st century, Mayotte had a special status with France as a collectivité territoriale (territorial collectivity), conceived as being midway between an overseas territory and an overseas département. Its status was changed to collectivité départementale (departmental collectivity) in 2001 and then to overseas département in 2011. Mayotte’s status as an administrative unit of France is disputed by Comoros, which has claimed Mayotte since Comoros’s declaration of independence from France in 1975.

Mayotte is represented in the French National Assembly by a deputy and in the French Senate by two senators. It is administered by a French-appointed prefect and an elected General Council. The judiciary is modeled on the French system.

Mayotte has several small hospitals and some dispensaries. Major illnesses include malaria, parasitic diseases, and tuberculosis. The educational system includes both traditional Islamic schools, in which the Qurʾān is studied, and primary and secondary schools established by the French.

History

In the 15th century, Arabs invaded the island and converted its inhabitants, who were probably descendants of earlier Bantu and Malayo-Indonesian peoples, to Islam; in the 16th century, the Portuguese and French visited Mayotte. At the end of the 18th century, the Sakalava, a Malagasy tribe from Madagascar, invaded and populated the island, bringing a Malagasy dialect. The French gained colonial control over Mayotte in 1843, and, together with the other islands of the Comoros archipelago and Madagascar, Mayotte became part of a single French overseas territory in the early 20th century.

The French administered Mayotte separately from the remainder of the Comoros beginning in 1975, when the three northernmost and predominantly Muslim islands of the Comoros declared independence, and the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of Mayotte chose to remain with France. In 1976 the French government introduced a special status of collectivité territoriale for the island. In 1979 the United Nations passed a resolution affirming the sovereignty of Comoros over Mayotte. The African Union also supported Comoros’s claim to the island.

The population of Mayotte had long demanded the status of an overseas département for the island, but the French government did not make firm plans to implement the change until the early 21st century. In a referendum held on the issue in March 2009, 95 percent of Mayotte’s voters favoured the change in status, which took effect in March 2011.